Several VSPs have moved beyond simply providing voice services to also offer web-based tools in a web-based environment. Peer into the workings of the BeVocal Cafe File Management provisioning interface; run the HeyAnita FreeSpeech VoiceXML IDE; and learn the secrets of the VoiceGenie Developer Workshop.

From the author of

From the author of

Introduction

Several VSPs have gone beyond just providing voice services to also offer
web-based tools. They include web-based environments that provide everything you
need to write applications. Some even remove the need for putting your VoiceXML
on a web server by hosting your VoiceXML, while also allowing you to link to a
remote server if you wantfor example, if you're writing server-side
code, which would require you to use a hosted environment.

Web-Based Environment

For ease of installation and configuration, the web-based tools available
through the developer programs of these companies are the way to go. We'll
call this a web-based environment. If you select this route, you'll
be faster getting into the business of developing VoiceXML than with any other
approach. If you're only interested in working with VoiceXML at a high
level, and not interested in the underlying technologies, you can even avoid the
discussion of simulators, XML editors, and suchjust join one of the
developer programs, and you can be writing and testing VoiceXML code in a few
minutes. Whatever approach you decide to take, visit the simulator and VSP web
sites and check out what they're doing. Each vendor offers valuable tools,
whether or not you decide to use its complete environment.

So why not just register for some of the web-based toolkits and be done with
it? In many cases, this is the best course, but often circumstances require
assembling a custom environment. If you use dialup Internet access and have a
single phone line, you may not like a web-based environment. If that line also
provides Internet access, you must disconnect your Internet session, dial the
phone number to test your application, and then reestablish an Internet
connection.

In addition to the provisioning tools used to map a telephone number to your
application and run your VoiceXML code, web-based VoiceXML toolkits may include
some or all of the following tools:

Code validator. This tool checks the syntax of your VoiceXML code
and reports errors. This may be part of a larger text editor or may be a
stand-alone tool you paste your code into for a quick check.

Log viewer. Lets you examine the log that results from your code
being run on the VSP's VoiceXML gateway. The log contains detailed
information about your application, including errors, variable evaluation,
program control flow, HTTP header data, speech recognition status, and others.
Logs may be viewed dynamically as an application runs, or stored and retrieved
from previous application runs.

Text interface. Provides a text interface in place of the actual
voice interface. With a text interface, when your application prompts you for
information you can enter your input at the keyboard. Though this is far removed
from the experience your end users will have, it's useful for certain
debugging situations and almost essential when using a web-based toolkit via a
dialup modem.

Support. By joining a VSP's developer program, you can use
its technical support, including documentation about how to use the toolkit
itself. In addition, standard information such as the VoiceXML specification is
often provided in better organized formats than a single, large PDF document.
Most important are documents that describe in detail what VoiceXML elements and
attributes are supported, which audio formats the VSP prefers, programmer FAQs,
newsgroups, tutorials, and other useful information.